Malaga hires Bernd Schuster to succeed Pellegrini

Former German international Bernd Schuster will manage Malaga CF for the next five seasons, the Spanish club announced Friday.

Schuster, who has played for and coached some of Spain's top teams, succeeds Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, who resigned last month and was named Friday as the new manager of Manchester United.

Malaga directors said they are counting on the 53-year-old German "to develop a solid, long-term project."

Schuster, who was a part of Spanish championship squads with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, will be assisted at Malaga by former Getafe stalwart Fabio Celestini.

He began his managerial career in his homeland and went on to run Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk before returning to Spain to coach Levante, Getafe and Real Madrid, which won La Liga under Schuster in 2008.

Pellegrini left Malaga after three successful seasons that included the Spanish side's first-ever appearance in the elite UEFA Champions League.

Malaga made it as far as the quarterfinals in the 2012-2013 Champions competition.

But while the club's sixth-place finish in La Liga would have qualified them for a berth in the Europa League, Malaga is barred from European competition in 2013-2014 due to financial irregularities. EFE